Saturday, February 25, 2012

it seems that i remain full of spinning euphoria following the second place finish in -batts to hats-. i have plied all the singles were on bobbins.... it was a lot of fiber. all the cape cod cranberry that i dyed is now hanks of yarn, just waiting for a quick wash, then i can decide what to do with them.
joan visited yesterday for a day of spinning and fiber fun. we both had 'bricks' of longmeadow farms fiber, so decided that was what we would work on. for my sweet family that is always stymied by the 'fiber lingo' here is what a brick is. locks of wool ( and some goat fur which we call mohair) is dyed (kind of like the easter egg thing, but with animal hair instead of eggs) when dry, the locks are put into a large device with very sharp points that fluffs them up and mixes them together. sandy then folds them into smaller, compact amounts that she calls a brick. the thrill for the spinners, is that you can take the fiber off the brick any way you want and get totally different results. joan is just pulling hers off as it is, getting a mix of colors.

i am taking mine off in strips getting long bands of the same colors.

since i am planning on leaving mine as a single, i want to find a super cool pattern that will help show case the yarn. i'll need to get some measurements on my amounts and then get searching.
to help were the two canines of the house....... they were just beside themselves with excitement!

Saturday, February 18, 2012

saturday = guild day. the best day of the week! i was especially excited because we had a fun program planned for today and i was going to get to spin. (lately when i go to meetings, i talk..... clean up..... talk...... problem solve.....but don't get to spin)
the program was 'batts to hats' the concept was simple..... take roving, spin roving, knit a hat.... in less than two hours.
i love a challenge. i'm the first in line. often i forget to even ask what the project is. so this was up my alley. the dilemma arrived late yesterday afternoon when my partner (and fiber provider) was unable to participate. hmmmmm, what to do? i already had my pattern in mind, utensils packed, so i scurried around and found some wool. i had a ball of cottswold in blue jeans, and a ball of leister longwool in white. i decided that if i spun these together it would make a thick, bulky single that i could easily and quickly knit. now i just needed to coerce find someone to play with. arriving at the meeting i smiled sweetly at my friend joan, then became quite sober telling her my plight. her first reponse was, 'well' then she relented and jumped in.
at the signal to start, we were off, spinning like we'd never spun before.

termed, 'artic ice' we filled those bobbins with chunky singles and soon i was knitting away. we were heckled by the team across from us and soon trash talking intimidation techniques were employed. all in good nature, we shot back responses, adding some ribbing of our own. soon the first team was finished, after a brief 45 minutes with an adult hat, including sparkles. now the bar was raised and i could feel that joan was in it to win it! we worked in tandem, almost thinking for each other, her hands reaching for things as i moved onto other parts. as the last knot was tied, i triumphantly threw the hat up! we did it. coming in second. wow.
the competition continued until the timer rang. seven hats, seven. each uniquely different and wonderful in what they represented. working with a partner, getting the job done.

here they are (artic ice is hat #2). prizes were distributed and laughter ensued. what a day!

Sunday, February 12, 2012

winter arrived yesterday, just in time for my travels to freedom. freedom actually is a place, south east of buffalo that is the home of longmeadow farms. i always encounter an adventure when i make my way to sandy's event, this year i encountered a parade. yes, i said parade. it was a balmy 13 with gusty, snowy breezes for the winterfest activities in the small community of arcade. when the young police officer stopped me, i showed him my directions, affected a 'lost woman' attitude and he took pity on me. after a short wait, we were on our way again.
the snow fall did not deter the fiber enthusiasts. there were wheels galore, lots of knitting, warmth and laughter as we enjoyed our afternoon.

i had finished my cranberry roving the night before, so i had empty bobbins and a hankering for something yummy to spin. the show special were 'fiber bricks' these unique hand carded batts were folded into a ... you guessed it ... a brick. i chose two that were alike so i would have 6 ounces of singles when i'm done.

with all the yarn, fiber, buttons and specials it was hard to not bring it all home. i showed amazing restraint and only added a card of buttons and jar of hand cream to my fiber.
as i was spinning away i posed a spinning question to the group and was astounded with the answers. i wanted to know opinions on singles. should they sit on the bobbin, did the twist really need to be set or was that a wacky thought that i interpreted wrong. a lively discussion ensued and i could not believe how much i learned. so, my singles are sitting on the bobbin setting even as i type.
we left relaxed and energized from all the woolly goodness. can't wait til next year.

Monday, February 6, 2012

i am not a big sports fan. i enjoy the occasional baseball game, maybe a hockey game, but definitely not a 'go team' kind of gal. it wasn't in our family life growing up and i never connected in college, so it just passed me by. i try to stay current to be able to socially converse ( and not seems like a dweeb )
there are two parts i like about the super bowl: one is the commercials. with you tube, i don't even have to watch the game, i can just watch them. last year, it was all about the eminem-detroit one. this year, i appreciated them dragging out ole' clint eastwood and it did touch my heartstrings, but it was the honda-crv one that won!
the second is the sale at my lys. after my adventure in not having commercial yarn at hand i was all about stocking the stash. at 15% off, this seemed liked a great time. i had a blast. fondling yarns, dreaming about projects, filling my basket ( and my fellow shopper )

malibrigo. a luscious yarn that has awesome colourways and is delightful to work with. since i wasn't shopping alone, i also purchased vest yarn.....

i was reminded that my partner has been consistently wearing all the vest in the closet, so is rightfully due for a new one. the colors are perfect for spring, so will be fun to work with. it seems silly to make that statement since we really haven't had any winter, but i do enjoy thinking about spring heading our way.

About Me

a married mom of two. i live in a big, old house that has been a huge adventure to restore. we live in a small village in the fingerlakes region of new york. i started knitting in 2003 and my spinning adventure began in 2007. i work part-time during the school year and provide home based education to my kids. we have two pups who show a deep love for my wooliness.